More immigration chaos

HUGH ROBERTSON HAILS ANOTHER GOVERNMENT U-TURN

Hugh Robertson has today welcomed a government U-Turn over visas for Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) students from Romania and Bulgaria. The government had cancelled all visa issue, in the wake of the immigration fiasco, but has now agreed to restart issuing SAWS visas.

he U-Turn was announced as part of a little known procedural mechanism in the House of Commons. After the Speaker had rejected a number of requests for a statement or debate on the issue, and Parliamentary Written Questions had been stalled, the Conservative Agricultural Team applied to the Speaker to have Hugh Robertson’s question on fruit, at DEFRA Questions, moved up the order paper so that the Secretary of State would have to answer it. Once the Speaker had indicated that he was prepared to allow this, DEFRA issued their statement.

Hugh said: “I am delighted that the government has finally relented and agreed to issue the necessary SAWS visas. I am also extremely grateful to the NFU for all their hard work.

However, it is utterly unforgivable that SAWS students were ever mixed up in the illegal immigrant fiasco and that the government did not react sooner. I heard of one constituent who lost £400,000 as a result of this. The government has a huge case to answer.”